Head-support for screw-spikes.



G. J. GADD. HEAD SUPPORT FOR SCREW SPIKES. APPLIOATION FILED JULY11,1911.

1,062,905. Pat entd May 27, 1913.

WITNESSES A 1 (515 BY a.

ATTORNEY CHARLES J. GADD, F LEBANON, PENNSYLVANIA HEAD-SUPPORT FOBSCREW-SPIKES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 2'? 1913,

Application filed July 11, 1911. Serial No. 637,995.

' To all whom it may concern:

subject of the King of Great Britain, and a resident of Lebanon, in thecounty of. Lebanon and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain newand useful Improvements in Head-Supports for Screw-Spikes, of which thefollowing is a specification.

My invention relates to a head support for screw spikes and the objectof my invention is to furnish a self contained means for supporting thatpart of the head of a screw spike opposite the part which engages thetop of the flange of the rail.

My invention is illustrated in the accompany drawings in which Figure 1,is an end elevation of a railway rail showing a screw spike and mysupport.

Fig. 2, a plan of my support. Fig. 3, a,

front elevation of Fig. 2.

a represents a railway rail. 1) a screw spike and 0 my spike headsupport.

It is the usual practice in railway construction, when screw spikes areemployed to fasten the flange of the rails to the ties, to

bore a hole in the tie and to screw there-- in the threaded part of thespike until a portion of its head engages the top of the flange of therail, the part of the head not engaging the flange being entirelyunsupported. This method of using the spikes results in various troublesand considerable damage'due to the unsupported side of the head workingwith the passing loads and eventually the spike bends or breaks in theshank. Of late various forms of tie plates with raised lugs to supportthe outer side of the spike head have been placed upon the market, itwill understood that I make no claim upon such construction, myinvention being confined to a device the solepurpose of which is tosupport that part of the spike head unsupported by the flange of therail. 7

My head support 0 is preferably, but not necessarily, made from a rolledsection as shown in Figs. 2 and 3'. It has upon one side a straight faced which is adapted to lie close against or parallel to the rail andforms a perfect bearing for all that part of the head projecting pastthe flange.

e is an open slot communicating with the hole f through which the spikepasses. The slot 6 should be of sufiicient width to permit it to beslipped in between the threads and past the spike when the latter issufficiently raised to expose the threads; That part of the spike justbeneath the heads, the shank, which permanently occupies the hole fbeing of some considerably greater diameter than the part between thethreads will, when the spike is screwed home, be too large topassthrough slot v6 and will prevent the head support from moving fromplace.

To reduce the weight of metal and to at the same timemaintain properstrength the head support is formed with two risers or flanges gh whichare carried by the base i. It is my purpose t-omake these flangessufficiently high to operate in connection with the thickestflangerolled on railway rails and to flatten these flanges down in dies as maybe necessary to adapt the device for use with rail flanges of lessheight. This is, however, a detail of manufacture and separate dies canbe used for making the support of a number of different heights ifdesired.

Having thus described my invention I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent '7 l. A head support for screw spikes consisting of awasher having a flat side adapted to be placed contiguous to the base ofa rail and the top of which is shaped to conform to the under part ofthe spike head, which has a hole for the passage of a spike and a slotextending from said flat side to said hole, said slot being of lesswidth than the diameter of the spike but wider than that part of thespike included between the threads of the screw.

2. A head support for screw spikes consisting of a washer having a flatside which is adapted to lie adjacent to the flange of a rail, which isperforated for the passage of a spike, the top part of which slopesupward and outward in all directions from the center of saidperforation, and which is furnished with a slot extending from said flatside to said perforation, said slot being of less width than thediameter of the spike but wider than that part included between thethreads of the screw.

3.'A head support for, screw spikes consisting of a washer having aconed depression to conform to the cone on the under side of the screwspike head, said'washer being segmental inform with a flat side andhaving a hole in its center and a slot communicating with said hole saidslot having a width less than the diameter of the shank of a spike butwide enough to pass between the roots of the thread thereon.

4. A head support washer for screw spikes consisting of a disk of metalsegmental in form having a base and one or more segmental flanges ofdifferent heights to conform to the angle of the cone on the under sideof the spike head, a fiat side, a

hole in its center and a slot communicating 10 with said hole, said slotbeing of a width less than the diameter of the shank of the spike butwide enough to pass between the roots of the thread upon said spike.

. CHARLES J. GADD. Vitnesses:

E. P. PYEWELL, EUGENE HOASTER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. G.

